Windows Black Screen: Complete Fix Guide [2025]

Solution #1: Force Restart

If this is the first time you're seeing the black screen, start here:

1. Hold down the power button for 10-15 seconds until your PC completely shuts off
2. Wait about 30 seconds
3. Press the power button to turn it back on
4. Let Windows load normally

Yeah, I know—"turn it off and on again." But it works more often than you'd think. Clears out temporary glitches.

Solution #2: Check Your Display Connections

If you're on a desktop or using an external monitor, check the cables:

1. Turn off your PC completely
2. Unplug your display cable (HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA) and plug it back in firmly—both ends
3. Got a graphics card? Make sure the cable's plugged into the graphics card ports, not the motherboard
4. Using two monitors? Unplug the second one for now
5. Check that your monitor is on the right input (press the input/source button on the monitor)

I've seen this happen a lot after someone moves their computer or bumps a cable by accident.

Solution #3: Wake Up the Display

Sometimes Windows gets confused and thinks your display is asleep:

1. Press Windows key + P twice
2. Wait 5 seconds
3. Press Enter
4. Also try Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B—this resets your graphics driver

You might hear a beep with that last one. That's good—it means Windows is resetting the graphics driver.

Solution #4: Restart Explorer.exe

If you can see your cursor moving around on a black screen, try this:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager (if that doesn't work, try Ctrl + Alt + Delete first, then select Task Manager)
2. Click "File" in the top-left corner, then "Run new task"
3. Type explorer.exe and hit Enter
4. Your desktop should pop up within a few seconds

This basically restarts Windows Explorer, which is what displays your desktop, taskbar, and Start menu.

Solution #5: Turn Off Fast Startup

If the black screen keeps happening, Fast Startup is probably the problem:

1. Boot into Safe Mode (see Solution #6 below if you need help)
2. Press Windows + R, type control, hit Enter
3. Go to "Power Options" → "Choose what the power buttons do"
4. Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable" (might need admin rights)
5. Uncheck "Turn on fast startup (recommended)"
6. Save and restart

Your PC will boot a little slower, but who cares if it actually works.

Solution #6: Boot into Safe Mode

Safe Mode loads Windows with only the essential drivers, which lets you fix problems that prevent normal booting.

Method 1: From a Black Screen

1. Hold the power button for 10 seconds to force shutdown
2. Turn on your PC
3. As soon as you see the Windows logo, hold the power button again to force shutdown
4. Do this 3 times total—Windows will automatically enter Recovery Mode
5. Click "Advanced options" → "Troubleshoot" → "Advanced options" → "Startup Settings" → "Restart"
6. When the menu appears, press 4 or F4 for Safe Mode

Method 2: From the Login Screen (If You Can See It)

1. Click the power icon in the bottom-right
2. Hold down Shift and click "Restart"
3. Follow steps 5-6 from Method 1

Solution #7: Fix Your Graphics Drivers

If your black screen started after a Windows update, this is probably it. The update installed a bad graphics driver.

1. Boot into Safe Mode (use Solution #6)
2. Right-click the Start button → "Device Manager"
3. Expand "Display adapters" to see your graphics card
4. Right-click your graphics card (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel)
5. Option A: Click "Properties" → "Driver" tab → "Roll Back Driver" (if it's available, this undoes the recent update)
6. Option B: Click "Uninstall device" → Check "Delete the driver software" → Restart. Windows will install a basic driver.
7. Once your desktop's back, download the latest driver from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel (don't use Windows Update)

This fixes most post-update black screens. Get the driver from the manufacturer, not Windows Update—that's the key.

Solution #8: System Restore

Know when the problem started? System Restore can roll your PC back to before it happened:

1. Boot into Safe Mode or Windows Recovery
2. Press Windows + R, type rstrui, hit Enter
3. Click "Next"
4. Pick a restore point from before the black screen started (dates are listed)
5. Click "Next" → "Finish"
6. Wait 10-15 minutes for it to finish

This only works if System Restore was on before. Your files are safe, but recently installed programs might disappear.

Solution #9: Repair Corrupted System Files

Windows has a built-in tool to fix corrupted files. It's worth trying if nothing else has worked:

1. Boot into Safe Mode
2. Right-click Start and select "Terminal (Admin)" or "Command Prompt (Admin)"
3. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter
4. This will take 15-30 minutes—let it finish
5. If it finds problems, also run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
6. Restart when it's done

Solution #10: Try a New User Account

Sometimes your user profile gets corrupted. Creating a new account can tell you if that's the problem:

1. Boot into Safe Mode
2. Open Settings and go to Accounts → Family & other users
3. Click "Add someone else to this PC"
4. Follow the steps to make a new local account
5. Restart and log in with this new account
6. If your desktop shows up now, your old profile was the problem. You can copy your files from C:\Users\OldUsername\ to the new account

Solution #11: Uninstall the Recent Update

1. Boot into Safe Mode (see Solution #6)
2. Go to Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates
3. Look for the most recent update at the top of the list
4. Click on it and select "Uninstall"
5. Restart and see if the black screen is gone
6. If this fixed it, you can pause updates for a week or so while Microsoft (hopefully) releases a fix

This works more often than you'd think. Sometimes Microsoft pushes out buggy updates that they later patch.